American football player (born 1986)
American football player
Antoine Brandon Cason
(born July 9, 1986) is an American former professional
football
player who was a
cornerback
in the
National Football League
(NFL). He played
college football
for the
Arizona Wildcats
where he was recognized as a consensus
All-American
and won the
Jim Thorpe Award
. He was selected by the
San Diego Chargers
in the first round of the
2008 NFL draft
. Cason also played for
Arizona Cardinals
,
Carolina Panthers
, and
Baltimore Ravens
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Cason was born in
Long Beach, California
, to Deborah and Wendell Cason. His father
Wendell
played football for the
University of Oregon
and the NFL's
Atlanta Falcons
. His brother Dione competed in track at
Washington State University
. He is also a cousin of
Ken-Yon Rambo
of the CFL's
Calgary Stampeders
, and
Aveion Cason
, formerly of the NFL's
Detroit Lions
.
[
citation needed
]
He got his start playing in a local football league for the Carson-Gardena Colts, where he stood out as one of the team's top players. Cason started his high school career at
Long Beach Polytechnic High School
, then transferred to
Los Alamitos High School
in Los Alamitos, California after his freshman year. At Los Al, he played defensive back for the school's football team and ran track. During his high school years, Antoine earned several honors for his performance on the football field.
[
citation needed
]
Considered a three-star recruit by
Rivals.com
, Cason was listed as the No. 37 cornerback prospect in the nation in 2004.
[1]
He chose Arizona over offers from
Oregon State
and
Washington
.
College career
[
edit
]
Cason attended the
University of Arizona
, where he majored in political science and played for the
Arizona Wildcats football
team from 2004 to 2007. He was a starting player for the University's football team since his freshman year in 2004, and is recognized as one of the best cornerbacks in Arizona's history. After his first collegiate game, Antoine was named the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the week. During his freshmen year, he was also honored as the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. In 2005, he earned Second-team All-Pac-10 honors. Following the Wildcats' upset win against number 25-ranked
Washington State University
on November 4, 2006, he earned his second Pac-10 Defensive Player of the week award. The following week, he was recognized again as Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week after breaking a 17-17 tie between the Wildcats and the number 8-ranked
Cal Bears
by scoring a touchdown on a 39-yard interception return. In 2006, Cason was a semi-finalist for the
Jim Thorpe Award
. After the 2006 season, Cason was eligible for the
2007 NFL draft
. However, he decided to return for his senior season to finish his college degree.
Cason continued his stellar play into his 2007 senior season. His performance on November 15, 2007 in a 34-24 win against the then number two ranked Oregon Ducks included both an interception return and punt return for touchdowns. He finished the season with 5 interceptions, 2 of which were returned for touchdowns. He also returned 2 punts for touchdowns. On December 6, 2007, he was awarded the Jim Thorpe Award for best defensive back in the country and was a consensus first-team
All-America
choice.
Cason also competed in
track & field
for the Wildcats from 2006 to 2007. In the spring of 2007, Cason earned All-American honors in Track and Field for his contribution to the Wildcats Men's
4 × 100 metres relay
team, which finished in the top eight at the NCAA Championship.
College statistics
[
edit
]
College statistics
Year
|
GP
|
Solo
|
Ast
|
Total
|
TFL
|
Yds
|
No
|
Yds
|
Int
|
Yds
|
TD
|
BrUp
|
RCV
|
Yds
|
FF
|
Attempt
|
Yds
|
TD
|
2007
|
12
|
56
|
15
|
71
|
4
|
12
|
1
|
6
|
5
|
164
|
2
|
14
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
27
|
271
|
2
|
2006
|
12
|
48
|
14
|
62
|
2
|
8
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
57
|
1
|
7
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2005
|
11
|
38
|
12
|
50
|
2.5
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
40
|
0
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2004
|
11
|
54
|
16
|
70
|
5.5
|
18
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
88
|
0
|
6
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Total
|
46
|
196
|
57
|
253
|
14
|
43
|
1
|
6
|
15
|
349
|
3
|
32
|
1
|
0
|
6
|
27
|
271
|
2
|
Awards and honors
[
edit
]
- Honorable mention
Sporting News
All-
Pac-10
(2004)
- Sporting News
Pac-10 Freshman of the Year (2004)
- Sporting News
Freshman
All-American
(2004)
- FWAA
Freshman
All-American
(2004)
- Rivals.com Freshman All-America Club (2004)
- Second-team All-Pac-10 (2005)
- 2x First-team All-Pac-10 (2006-2007)
- Jim Thorpe Award
semifinalist (2006)
- NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field All American in 4x100 (2006)
- Jim Thorpe Award (2007)
- Walter Camp First-team All American (2007)
- Associated Press First-team All American (2007)
- The Sporting News First-team All American (2007)
- CBSSports.com First-team All American (2007)
- SI.com First-team All American (2007)
- Rivals.com First-team All American (2007)
- University of Arizona Athletics Hall of Fame (2019)
Professional career
[
edit
]
Pre-draft
[
edit
]
Cason in 2008
Cason was regarded as one of the best cornerbacks available in the
2008 NFL draft
,
[2]
[3]
and was projected a mid-to-late first round pick by
Sports Illustrated
.
[4]
San Diego Chargers
[
edit
]
2008 season
[
edit
]
Cason was selected in the first round (27th overall) by the
San Diego Chargers
.
[6]
He signed a five year, $12.03 million deal with the team.
[7]
Cason played in all 16 regular season games and both playoff games at cornerback and on special teams as a rookie for the 2008 AFC Western Division champion
San Diego Chargers
. His first career NFL interception came on September 14, against the Denver Broncos, picking off
Jay Cutler
in the end zone and returning it for 10 yards. His second interception was off Tampa Bay's
Jeff Garcia
, which he returned 59 yards for his first career NFL touchdown. He ended his rookie season with 74 tackles (59 solo) and 2 INTs.
2009 season
[
edit
]
The Chargers first game of the season came on a
Monday Night Football
match up against rival
Oakland Raiders
. In that game, Cason intercepted
JaMarcus Russell
's hail mary attempt on the last play of the game to seal the victory for the Chargers. In the next game, he intercepted
Baltimore Ravens
Joe Flacco
and returned it 22 yards. Cason ended the season with 41 total tackles (38 solo) and 2 INTs. He played in all 16 regular season games and their only playoff game for the 2009 AFC Western Division champion
San Diego Chargers
.
2010 season
[
edit
]
He made his first career NFL start at cornerback on
Monday Night Football
against the
Kansas City Chiefs
in Week 1. Cason had 2 interceptions against
David Garrard
of the
Jacksonville Jaguars
in Week 2. He finished the season with 67 tackles (57 solo) and 4 INTs while playing all 16 regular season games.
2011 season
[
edit
]
Cason was the starting cornerback opposite
Quentin Jammer
to begin the season. Following a game against the
New York Jets
, in which he allowed three touchdown passes to
Plaxico Burress
, he was briefly benched in favor of the Chargers rookie cornerback
Marcus Gilchrist
. He regained the starting job after Gilchrist made one start. He sealed the Chargers victory in Week 17 against the
Oakland Raiders
with an interception off
Carson Palmer
, which ended the Raiders playoff chances.
2012 season
[
edit
]
Cason started all 16 regular season games for the Chargers. He ended the season with 73 total tackles (62 solo) and 2 INTs.
Arizona Cardinals
[
edit
]
On March 15, 2013, Cason signed a one-year deal with the
Arizona Cardinals
.
[8]
Even though the
Jacksonville Jaguars
offered him a larger contract, he decided to return to the state where he was a college standout.
[9]
In a game against the
Tennessee Titans
, Cason had 2 interceptions, one of them he ran back for a touchdown. Despite playing in all 16 regular season games, his season was considered a disappointment. He finished with only 14 total tackles (12 solo) and 2 INTs.
Carolina Panthers
[
edit
]
On March 21, 2014, Cason signed a one-year deal with the
Carolina Panthers
for $795,000, with $65,000 guaranteed.
[10]
[11]
During his debut performance for the Panthers in a 20-14 victory against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
, Cason recorded 9 tackles, 2 pass deflections, and an interception.
[12]
During the week 2 victory over the
Detroit Lions
, Cason recorded 10 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery.
[13]
In the Panthers week 5 victory over the Chicago Bears, Cason recorded 6 tackles, 1 pass deflection, and had pivotal forced fumble against
Matt Forte
in the fourth quarter that led to the game-winning touchdown.
Through five games with the Panthers, Cason had set a career-high with 3 forced fumbles.
Despite this early success, Cason began to struggle to produce later on in the season. In a week 9 loss to the
New Orleans Saints
, Cason was benched after he was called for a 32-yard pass interference penalty. In week 13, Cason was benched again after allowing a 17-yard touchdown pass to
Greg Jennings
of the
Minnesota Vikings
, which contributed to Carolina's 31-13 loss. Two days later, on December 2, he was waived from his contract. He had started 11 of 12 games during his season with Carolina.
[11]
Baltimore Ravens
[
edit
]
Cason signed with the
Baltimore Ravens
on December 9, 2014.
[15]
He decided to wear #23, instead of his usual #20, as a mark of respect to the great
Ed Reed
, who famously wore #20 for Baltimore. He played the last two regular season games and became a free agent at the end of the season.
On June 24, 2015, he announced he would miss the upcoming season due to a surgery he had on his right foot.
[16]
NFL statistics
[
edit
]
Year
|
Team
|
GP
|
COMB
|
TOTAL
|
AST
|
SACK
|
FF
|
FR
|
FR YDS
|
INT
|
IR YDS
|
AVG IR
|
LNG
|
TD
|
PD
|
2008
|
SD
|
16
|
74
|
59
|
15
|
0.0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
69
|
35
|
59
|
1
|
7
|
2009
|
SD
|
16
|
41
|
38
|
3
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
22
|
11
|
22
|
0
|
3
|
2010
|
SD
|
16
|
67
|
57
|
10
|
0.0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
51
|
13
|
28
|
0
|
17
|
2011
|
SD
|
16
|
53
|
46
|
7
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
69
|
35
|
64
|
0
|
17
|
2012
|
SD
|
16
|
73
|
62
|
11
|
0.0
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
34
|
17
|
31
|
0
|
11
|
2013
|
ARI
|
16
|
14
|
12
|
2
|
0.0
|
0
|
2
|
43
|
2
|
36
|
18
|
20
|
1
|
3
|
2014
|
CAR
|
12
|
58
|
44
|
14
|
0.0
|
4
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
81
|
41
|
80
|
0
|
6
|
2014
|
BAL
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Career
|
|
110
|
380
|
318
|
62
|
0.0
|
8
|
3
|
0
|
16
|
362
|
23
|
80
|
2
|
64
|
[17]
Key
- GP
: games played
- COMB
: combined tackles
- TOTAL
: total tackles
- AST
: assisted tackles
- SACK
: sacks
- FF
: forced fumbles
- FR
: fumble recoveries
- FR YDS
: fumble return yards
- INT
: interceptions
- IR YDS
: interception return yards
- AVG IR
: average interception return
- LNG
: longest interception return
- TD
: interceptions returned for touchdown
- PD
: passes defensed
Post-playing career
[
edit
]
Following his professional playing career, Cason has pursued becoming an
on-field official
, initially working high school games.
[18]
He was assigned as an alternate official for the January 2023 edition of the
NFLPA Collegiate Bowl
.
[18]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Cornerbacks 2004"
,
Rivals.com
, January 28, 2004
- ^
"2008 NFL Draft Cornerbacks ranking"
,
NFLDraftScout.com
, April 2008
- ^
"2008 NFL Draft Cornerbacks ranking"
,
Sports Illustrated
, April 2008
- ^
"Antoine Cason Draft Profile"
,
Sports Illustrated
, April 2008
- ^
"Antoine Cason Draft Profile"
,
NFLDraftScout.com
, retrieved
January 12,
2010
- ^
"2008 NFL Draft Listing"
.
Pro-Football-Reference.com
. Retrieved
May 11,
2023
.
- ^
"First-round pick Cason signs five-year deal with Chargers"
.
NFL.com
.
- ^
"Cason Coming To Cardinals"
. Archived from
the original
on March 18, 2013
. Retrieved
March 16,
2013
.
- ^
"Jags made better offer to Cason"
. March 15, 2013.
- ^
Sessler, Marc.
"Panthers sign Tiquan Underwood, Antoine Cason"
.
NFL.com
. Retrieved
March 21,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
Newton, David (December 2, 2014).
"Panthers waive Antoine Cason"
.
ESPN
. ESPN Internet Ventures
. Retrieved
December 10,
2014
.
- ^
"Carolina 20 - 14 Tampa Bay: Final | 2014-09-07 | National Football League | Yahoo! Sports"
.
sports.yahoo.com
.
- ^
http://journaltimes.com/sports/football/games/panthers-d-causes-havoc-without-hardy-in---win/article_6feb3483-973b-5611-bf13-077e2f9e2262.html
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Alper, Josh (December 9, 2014).
"Ravens sign Antoine Cason"
. Pro Football Talk
. Retrieved
December 9,
2014
.
- ^
"Ex-Ravens Corner Antoine Cason has surgery and won't play this season"
. Retrieved
June 24,
2015
.
- ^
"Antoine Cason Stats"
.
ESPN
. ESPN Internet Ventures
. Retrieved
January 19,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
Austro, Ben (January 28, 2023).
"NFL is scouting the officials at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl"
.
footballzebras.com
. Retrieved
January 31,
2023
.
External links
[
edit
]
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Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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